Carlos is an older boy who lives in the same labor camp as Francisco’s family one spring. Francisco often plays kick-the-can with Carlos in the evenings, even though Francisco doesn’t like him very much. Carlos is a bully who insists that Francisco and his siblings follow all of Carlos’s rules, and he also excludes another little boy named Manuelito from the game, saying that Manuelito can’t play well. Francisco meekly tries to protest against Carlos’s rules, but he doesn’t succeed. One day, when Francisco is working at the strawberry farm, he sees one of the braceros who works with him stand up to a labor contractor who bullies the bracero. Inspired by the bracero’s actions, Francisco fights back more forcefully against Carlos, and Carlos ends up listening to him. Carlos’s character shows that most bullies are cowards who are intimidated when someone else seems stronger than them. Francisco’s encounter with him shows that Francisco will not allow himself to be bullied.
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Carlos Character Timeline in The Circuit
The timeline below shows where the character Carlos appears in The Circuit. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Learning the Game
...Francisco gets home, he takes some of Papá’s aspirin and lies down. Then, Francisco’s neighbor Carlos calls him from outside, asking him to come and play kick-the-can. Francisco likes the game,...
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Carlos never lets another little boy named Manuelito play with them, so Manuelito quietly hangs around...
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...work and begins playing kick-the-can again. The game is always the same—they always play by Carlos’s rules, and Carlos never allows Manuelito to play.
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...up to Manuelito and insists that he, too, must join in the game of kick-the-can. Carlos protests, but Francisco refuses to play if Manuelito can’t. This Carlos, so he trips Francisco...
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...That evening, Francisco doesn’t feel like playing but relents when Manuelito invites him. Francisco and Carlos are pitted against each other, and Francisco kicks the can so hard that it flies...
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